Fast-ion D alpha diagnostic with 3D-supporting FIDASIM in the Large Helical Device

Abstract

For understanding the physics of energetic particles, the deuterium experimental campaigns started in Large Helical Device (LHD) from March 2017. To investigate the behavior of energetic particles, a Fast-ion D Alpha (FIDA) diagnostic was installed on the LHD. In the FIDA diagnostic, the Doppler-shifted D alpha light from fast-neutrals are utilized as signals of energetic particles, where these fast-neutrals are produced by the charge exchange process between fast-ions in the plasma and actively injected neutrals by neutral beam (NB). The advantages of the FIDA diagnostic are the velocity and the spatially resolved measurement of fast-ions at the crossing point between its line of sight (LOS) and the incident line of NB. The most recent FIDASIM is enhanced to simulate signals produced in three-dimensional magnetic configurations. The new version of FIDASIM uses the fast-ion distribution function produced by GNET as input to simulate FIDA signals at LHD. In order to validate the new version of the code, measurements of radial profiles of fast-ions using the FIDA diagnostic are performed in magnetohydrodynamic (MHD)-quiescent plasmas. The measured spectra are in good agreement with the theoretical prediction by 3D-supporting FIDASIM at the center of the plasma (R= 3.5 m∼3.7 m, reff/a99= −0.28∼0.05) on the LHD when the line averaged electron density is ne_avg < 1.23 × 1019 m−3. On the other hand, the measured spectra are in disagreement with the theoretical prediction by 3D-supporting FIDASIM at even the center of the plasma when the line averaged electron density is ne_avg ≥ 1.23 × 1019 m−3.